Bexar blazing new trail with all-digital library

By John W. Gonzalez :
September 9, 2013

BiblioTech head librarian Ashley Eklof, right, demonstrates to Adonai Rodriguez, 9, how to use one of the interactive readers from the new BiblioTech, Bexar County's totally online library, at Festival People en Español at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Aug. 31. BiblioTech opens to the public Saturday at 3505 Pleasanton Road.

Photo By Marvin Pfeiffer / Southside Reporter

In this file photo dated April 12, County Judge Nelson Wolff speaks during a ceremony for BiblioTech, the base for the nation's first public library system without paper books, at the county's South Side service center, 3505 Pleasanton Road. The first elibrary is Wolff's brainchild.

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Bexar BiblioTech, the nation's first all-digital public library system, opens in San Antonio this week with the clatter of fingertips on keyboards tapping into the virtual world of free ebooks.

No other library system has launched without paper books, known as “physical books” in the digital library profession. Conceived out of the need for library services in Bexar County suburbs, the innovative approach has captured global attention, with experts eager to see how well the ebook concept is embraced here.

The system is based in a predominately Hispanic, low-income neighborhood on the city's South Side, where 75 percent of the population lacks Internet access. Yet that's precisely why the $2.4 million facility was built there, said its instigator, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who had an epiphany after reading the life story of Apple founder Steve Jobs.

“Ebook readership was going up, more ebooks were being produced, so we thought why not address that segment at probably one-third of the cost ... as opposed to building a big branch library,” Wolff said last week.

“We know we're on the cutting edge,” Wolff said. “Somebody said the other day, 'There's 15,000 libraries. Are you sure you know what the hell you're doing, because none of them are doing it?'”

After belting out a hearty laugh, Wolff said, “we believe we know what we're doing.”

By Friday, nearly 2,000 residents had applied for library privileges.

Starting with visions of an Apple store, and transformed into a sleek design by Kell Muñoz Architects, BiblioTech has been Wolff's focus for the past year. An avid physical book collector with 1,200 first editions, who recently read his first ebook, Wolff is convinced BiblioTech is worth the investment. It'll operate on an annual budget of $1.2 million, with 13 staff members.

Wolff, 72, said his generation isn't taking advantage of ebooks, but “the young people, they are.” To appeal to young readers, the library has a children's room, ereaders pre-loaded with kids' content, and shelves and shelves of virtual children's books. Tecolote, the library's interactive owl logo, enables Apple and Android mobile devices to quickly access more kids' content.

In launching BiblioTech — the grand opening event is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday — the county found willing partners in academia, including the Harlandale Independent School District, where the library is based at 3505 Pleasanton Road. Harlandale public information officer Leslie Ann Garza said the district is thrilled about its new asset.

“We know it will be a source for reading materials, information and technology like no other,” she said.

Library staff members also have been in contact with neighborhood groups, senior citizens and others to explain its services. Augmenting a plethora of websites, the personnel can guide patrons through the registration process and acquaint them with ereaders and apps required for remote access.

Once patrons get used to ebooks, they'll eventually discover BiblioTech's limitation — one that it shares with other libraries. Many popular books simply aren't available in digital form, or they're too expensive. The library offers links to several repositories of free literature, but many best-selling titles remain out of BiblioTech's reach.

“We want to focus on what we will have,” said Project Manager Laura Cole. “If you go to a regular branch library, you won't always find a book you want to read there, either.”

The county contracted with 3M Cloud Library for the initial 10,000 titles, and the collection will grow, Wolff said.

Last week, branch manager Catarina Velásquez prepped the library for a looming onslaught of interest. The glistening reading room, with a bold orange color scheme, is poised for patrons, with 48 iMacs ready for action.

Assets including 600 3M ereaders are available for two-week borrowing, but patrons are encouraged to bring their own mobile devices to expedite registration and setup.